A test where a modern aero engine was run on 100% hydrogen at full take-off power for the first time drew on materials testing capabilities developed at Swansea University.
The four year program was led by Rolls-Royce and easyJet to demonstrate hydrogen as a viable aviation fuel. Researchers at Swansea provided critical materials data to support the development of hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines.
The engine tested was a modified Rolls-Royce Pearl 15, which in standard certified form produces 15,250lb (67.8kN) of thrust and powers the Bombardier Global 5500 and Global 6500 business jets.
The engine ran on hydrogen across a fully simulated flight cycle covering start-up, take-off, cruise and landing during ground testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.
The campaign was the culmination of an incremental effort that began with concept testing of a Rolls-Royce AE2100 engine on 100% green hydrogen at MoD Boscombe Down in 2022. The technology was then scaled through component and system rig tests in the UK and Europe before integration into a hydrogen-fuelled demonstrator engine.
Swansea University contributed as a core partner in the UK government-funded Hydrogen Engine System Technologies (HYEST) initiative. The university’s Institute of Structural Materials (ISM) established mechanical testing capabilities in two new areas the research group had not previously explored for the project.
The new facilities cover cryogenic temperatures and high-pressure hydrogen environments, replicating the extreme conditions hydrogen-fuelled engines must withstand. They were developed by a partnership between the ISM and the university’s Steel and Metals Institute (SAMI), generating data for safe and efficient engine design.
Professor Mark Whittaker, director of the ISM and the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Materials at Swansea University said, “ISM is an internationally recognised research centre in mechanical testing in high-temperature environments. SAMI brought complementary expertise in working with challenging industrial gases such as hydrogen, enabling us to create truly unique facilities.
“These have generated extensive data to support the development of hydrogen-based gas turbines.”
Louise Gale, materials specialist at Rolls-Royce said, “The testing program represents the culmination of a comprehensive, global program that set out to prove that hydrogen can safely and efficiently deliver power for aerospace engines.
“The development of hydrogen-fuelled engines requires novel materials test capability to validate material behaviour in hydrogen environments. The test capability developed by Swansea has allowed us to generate key materials data to support component design and safety assessments.”
